Kukla's Korner Hockey

"I have to say," veteran Trevor Linden began, "I found myself on the ice today and just kind of stopped and noticed, it just kind of clicked, like: 'Boy, what a difference one year makes.' It's a totally different dynamic."
Another Canuck said: "It's like a huge weight has been lifted off everyone, even from guys who didn't realize there was a weight on them."
The weight is the Bertuzzi-Crawford relationship that each -- Crawford when he was fired, Bertuzzi last week -- has indicated wasn't as bad as people think, but nearly everyone inside the organization knows was a catalyst of the Canucks' crash last season.
One example: After the Canucks failed to compete in a heartless 5-0 loss last March to the Nashville Predators, Canuck coaches scheduled one-on-one meetings with players the next day. Crawford did not show up for his meeting with Bertuzzi, apparently having relinquished hope of ever getting through to an influential star who seemed to any reasonable, long-time observer to be uncoachable.